Electric-battery holder.



C. T. MASON. ELECTRIC BATTERY HQLDER. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 12, 1909.

a@ ma? e :y l Roenes;

Patented Mar. 15

NITED STATES PATENT oratori.

CARL T. MASON, or SUMTER, soU'rH CAROLINA ELECTRIC-BATTERY HOLDER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown "that I, Cain. vT. MASON, a

`citizen of the llnited States, residing at- Sumter, in the county of Sumter and State of South Carolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric- Battery Holders, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings This invention relates to improvements in electric battery holders Aof that class in which the desired electrical connections bctween the cells are automatically effected by the placing and securing of the cells in the holder.

The object of the invention is to improve 1 and simplify the construction of devices ot' this character and provide improved means for fastening the battery cells to the insiilating head.

W'ith the above and other objects in View the invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter 'fully described and claimed and illustrated ,in the accompanying drawings, in which i s, Figure 1 isa vertical section through my I improved battery holder, the plane of the section beingindicatcd by'the line 1-1 in Fig'. 2, and Fig. 2 is a plan View of the lower face ot' the insulating head.

My in'iproved battery holder is especially adapted for use in connection with cells l having an exterior electrode 2 preferably forming the container for an electrolyte and an interior electrode 3. The exterior containing electrode 2 is inade from zinc or other suitableinet-al -while the inner electrode 3 is preferably in the torni ot astick of carbon and is centrally arranged, its upper end projecting above the top ot' the cell to provide an attaching lug which has a transverse aperture or opening 4.

The improved holder comprises an insulating head 5 of any suitable size and Specification of Letters Patent. Padgeiritetll lila?. LJ, llgi Applcationffded March 12, 1909. Serial N'o. 482,977. l i

cells 1. ASaid cell engaging lingers 8 have their liver ends curved transversely and longitudinally to provide sharp edges 9 which will Grip the metal electrode 2 and secure an e ect-ive contact with the saine. The connectors 6 are also provided with conducting tongues 10 which project radially from the annular plates or rings 7 and which are bent upwardly so as .to project through vertical Openings 11 formed in the head 5. The projecting portions of. the tongues 10, Whichlatter are resilient, extend from the slots 11 to the contact terminal 12 of the next adjacent cell in the series. The terminals 12 are in the forni of bolts which extend vertically through the insulating head 5 and which have their lower ends formed with hook-shaped heads 13 to enter the Openings et' in the electrodes 3 of the cells 1.

The screw-threaded upper ends of the bolts or hooks 12 extend through openings in the resilient conducting tongues 10 and have applied to them thumb nuts 1st which not only clam the tongues 10 down lupon the top of the iead 5 and secure an eii'eetive electrical connection between said tongues and terminal bolts but also draw the bolts npwardly so that their hook-shaped lower ends 13 will press the tops ot' the carbon electi'odes 3 against the bottoni face of the head 5 and thereby cli'ectively retain the cells 1 vWithin the sockets formed by the .tingeis 8. )iving to this arrangement ot the connectors with their tongues 10 and the terminal bolts or hooks 12, it will be seen upon reference to Fig. .2, that the cells will he connected in series, the zinc electrode of each cell being electrically connected to the carbon electrode of the next adjacent one of the series; and that one of the. electrical conductors 15 of the circuit niay be connect-ed to any one ot' the bolts 12 while the other conductor 16 niay be connected to one of the connectors t3. vAs illustrated said connectors are secured tO the insulating head 5 oyl ductor 1G is connected while the other conductor 15 is connected to the bolt or terininal 12 'ot the carbon electrode ot' the cell at the other end of the series. pose ot preventing the bolts 12 from ro- For the pur! tating when the cells are being applied to or removed from the holder and also while the nuts 14 are being secured down upon said bolts, `the hook-shaped heads 13 project into the' lierfs or cavities 20 cut into the bottom face of the head 5 as clearly shown in F 1 and 2 of the drawing. Owing to the resilieney of the tongues 10, it will be seen that even though the nuts 1st work loose on the bolts 12, said tongues will follow the nuts and maintain effective Contact with the bolts 12 as will be understood upon reference to the dotted lines in Fig. 1.

For the purpose of etlectively maintaining the cells 1 `of the battery in spaced relation 'within the box or other casing in which the battery is carried, I may place in the bottom of such box or casing a board or plate 21 containing a plurality oi sockets or openings 22 for the reception of the lower ends of the cellsv as charly shown in Fig. 1T

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed, is:

1. An electric battery holder comprising an insulating head formed with vertical openings, a plu 'ality of connectors secured to the under side oi' said head having means to contact with the exterior electrodes of the cells, conducting tongues projectingfrom cells and their upper ends engaged with said tongues.

2. An elect-ric battery holder comprising an insulating head formed with vertical openino's, connectors secured to the under side oi? said head and forming sockets for the cells and contact. terminals to engage the exterior electrodes of the cells, *conducting tongues extending from said connectors and through the openings in the head,\inner contact terminals'extending through `.and verti- .cally movable Iin the hea-d, means at the lower ends of said inner contactg ininals to engage the interior electrodes 0i and retain the latter in their soci". its and means arranged upon the upper end.- of said inner contact terminals for actuating them upwardly and retaining 'the coiiducting tongues in electrical Contact therewith.

3. 'l `he combination with cells having ex` terior electrodes and interior electrodes the latter having projecting vapertured ends, yot a battery holder having an insulating head formed with vertical openings, aplurality oi coi'incetors secured to the under side oi said head and forming sockets to receive the cells and outer contact terminals to engage the exterior electrodes of the cells, conducting tongues extending from said connectors and through the openings in saidliead, bolts arranged for vertical sliding movement in said head and having hook -eshaped lower ends to enter theopeningsin the projecting upper ends of the interior electrodes ofthe cells, said. conducting tongues havingtheir 

